Hyderabad: Amidst concerns expressed by the Opposition that there is a 15 percent decline in population of the backward classes, the group that was actually targeted to achieve the same quantum of growth in the reservation, the Congress government in Telangana tabled a report in the State legislature to extend 42 percent political reservation to the BCs ahead of the local body polls.
The Opposition led by the Bharat Rashtra Samiti argued that the report was a sham projecting a decline in the BC population from 61 to 46 percent. But the government stuck to its stand that the strength of the group went up significantly which was further consolidated by a substantial drop in the population of other castes.
In the maze of figures presented to the Assembly, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and his Cabinet colleagues expressed firm belief that the government will implement a 42 percent quota for the BCs in local bodies, a promise made by the Congress through a declaration at a rally of the BCs at Kamareddy before Assembly elections in 2023.
The report was a partial disclosure of what was supposed to be a family survey covering six components – social, economic, educational, employment, political, and caste — as per the recommendations made by the Cabinet in February last year. The initiative aimed to formulate and implement plans for the social, economic, educational, and employment advancement of Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other weaker sections of society.
The report was a partial disclosure of the caste survey and thereby not a true reflection of the socioeconomic status of the social groups surveyed.
The report did not disclose caste-wise details nor their population to know how many households benefited from government employment and how many were in political posts in every caste. It was a bland statement showing population percentages of reserved Vis-a-Vis non-reserved categories.
A consolidated data releasing figures on all six aspects of the survey would have been a more realistic approach to use the details for implementation of government schemes, a retired bureaucrat who did not wish to be named said.
He added that the data would have helped clear doubts that only three or four caste groups out of over a hundred listed in the backward classes cornered government benefits. It was a popular belief that this handful of communities took away a lion’s share of benefits although the younger generations of the said castes outsmarted their competitors from the general category to fill vacancies reserved for the latter in education and employment.
This was precisely a feature of a similar survey in Bihar where three or four castes were found to be ahead of others.
Political compulsions of parties in power were cited as a major deterrent for the declaration of caste survey details though they were key to removing disparities between social groups. It was for this reason that the Karnataka government led by Siddramaiah did not release the report of its caste survey though it was conducted much ahead of Telangana. The report on BCs also highlighted that the survey was handicapped by 3.56 lakh people, constituting 3.1 percent of the total population, not participating in the enumeration.
By another statement on sub-classification within the reserved categories, the government avoided presenting the report of the one-man commission headed by Justice (Retired) Shameem Akhter which inquired into the issue. Barring one recommendation of the commission that creamy layer clauses be introduced in reservation for SCs to eliminate from further reservations next of kin of those who enjoyed the fruits of reservation, the government accepted all other recommendations of the commission.
This became the bone of contention between the government and the Opposition. When the report of the commission was accepted, there was no point in holding back information based on which percentage of reservation was fixed for each group. The commission proposed one percent reservation for 15 most backward castes in Group I, nine percent for 18 castes led by the Madiga community in Group II, and five percent for 26 groups led by Malas in Group III.
The Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti of Manda Krishna protested the percentage and demanded an increase of two points. He argued that the Malas and sub-castes got five percent for their population of 15 lakh but the Madigas and sub-castes got only 11 percent for their population of 32 lakh.
The government pushed under the carpet the comprehensive household survey taken up by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samiti government and refused any debate on it as it lacked official recognition. The report was neither approved by the Cabinet nor tabled in the Assembly. The party leaked out components of the report in social media now for political mileage, Revanth Reddy said.
This post was last modified on February 6, 2025 9:07 pm